1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a television receiver and, more particularly, to a television receiver capable of providing a picture-in-picture display, of displaying the contents of manual operations performed for recording of programs, of displaying the reception level at the satellite broadcast reception antenna, and of displaying a plurality of items to be set such as the volume of reproduced sound.
2. Description of the Background
In recent years, an increasing number of television receivers have included the so-called picture-in-picture function. In that format, the whole viewing screen is treated as the main viewing screen, and part of the main screen is used as a mini-viewing screen. The images from another, different channel are displayed on this smaller screen area. In addition, television receivers are available that permit the user to make reservations for subsequent recording of desired programs on a video tape recorder. Furthermore, some television receivers are equipped with a satellite broadcast reception tuner, hereinafter referred to as a BS tuner. Thus, it is seen that television receivers have tended to become more sophisticated in their functions beyond merely displaying images from a selected channel.
In a television receiver having such sophisticated, multiple functions, the man/machine interface needs to be improved to permit the user to easily and sufficiently utilize the various functions of the receiver. In particular, the various manual operations, the sequence in which such manual operations are performed, the condition of the signal being received, and so on can be displayed on the mini-viewing screen to improve the operability of the receiver. The items in such a display are commonly referred to as the menu.
For example, when the user performs an operation to display the menu items, hereinafter referred to as the main menu, that have been set up according to the functions of the television receiver are displayed on the mini-viewing screen. At that time a cursor is displayed simultaneously with these set items, and the cursor can be moved using a remote controller to select an item. In response to the selected item, new items such as the various operations and the sequence in which the operations are carried out can be displayed. For example, when a program is to be recorded a recording menu having items such as the recording start time, the recording end time, and the channel number are displayed. Then, the program is reserved according to the newly displayed contents of operations and the sequence of the operations. At that time, the starting time of the recording, the ending time of the recording, the channel number, and the like are set or entered.
When a picture-in-picture display is provided, the user can perform an operation for displaying the main menu. Then, the user selects item for setting various parameters of the mini-screen in the main menu displayed on the mini-screen. Thus, various parameters like the switching of various picture signal sources, such as the VHF/UHF tuner, the BS tuner, or a video tape recorder, for displaying a picture on the mini-viewing screen, setting the channel, setting the sound volume at an earphone, setting the position of the mini-viewing screen, and setting the size of the mini-viewing screen are displayed as new set items. These set items can be referred to as the mini-viewing screen menu. The user then changes the picture signal source and determines the channel by using the remote controller, while watching the mini-viewing screen. Finally, the user selects the source of the signal to be shown on the mini-viewing screen display. As a result, the picture of a UHF/VHF broadcast program, for example, is displayed on the main viewing screen, while the images according to the picture signal reproduced by the video tape recorder are displayed on the mini-viewing screen.
In a normal mode, the images according to the picture signal from the VHF/UHF tuner are displayed and, in this normal mode, if items that are set are selected in the main menu then new items to be set, such as switching between the sounds of duplex sound, setting ON or OFF the output from the loudspeakers, and setting ON or OFF the sound confirming the operation of the remote controller are displayed on the mini-viewing screen. For example, the user can switch the reproduced sound to the auxiliary sound of the duplex sound by using the remote controller, while watching the displayed menu. As a result, only the auxiliary sound is produced from the speakers.
The problem arises though that if the picture signal source is switched to the video tape recorder after the channel has been set using the aforementioned mini viewing screen menu, or after the reproduced sound has been switched to the auxiliary sound of the duplex sound in the above-described various item menu, then the mini-viewing screen menu or the various set item menu is displayed on the mini-viewing screen as it is, even though the video tape recorder has neither the channel switching function nor the switching function of the duplex sound mode. Therefore, in a mode of operation that uses the video tape recorder as the source, the channel will be switched or the duplex sound mode will be changed. More specifically if the channel is switched in the mode of operation using the video tape recorder as the source, the channel of the VHF/UHF tuner is switched but the picture according to the picture signal supplied from the video tape recorder remains displayed on the viewing screen. Therefore, it has been impossible for the user to check if the channel of the VHF/UHF tuner has been switched in actuality. Furthermore, in the mode of operation using the video tape recorder as the source, if the channel or the duplex sound mode is changed erroneously, it is also impossible for the user to check on that situation.